Geotextile tubes are used to form marine structures, such as jetties, groins, and dikes, or to prevent erosion to beaches or shorelines caused by waves and currents. Geotextile tubes are typically made from a geotextile material in which sands, rocks, or other fill materials are filled to create a liquid-permeable structure that is capable of absorbing impact generated by the waves and currents.
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 3, a conventional geotextile tube 9 has a tubular body 91 that surrounds a longitudinal axis. In use, the tubular body 91 is filled with a fill material, and opposite ends of the tubular body 91 along the longitudinal axis are respectively closed and sewn with two stitch seams 92. Each of the opposite ends of the tubular body 91 converges along the longitudinal axis away from the other one of the opposite ends. In order to connect two of the conventional geotextile tubes 9 end to end, adjacent ends of the two conventional geotextile tubes 9 are overlapped (see FIG. 3). However, a gap may be formed between the two conventional geotextile tubes 9, and water can easily flow through the gap, thus lowering the overall effectiveness of erosion prevention of the conventional geotextile tubes 9. In addition, since the adjacent ends of the conventional geotextile tubes 9 are not fixedly connected, the longitudinal axes of the conventional geotextile tubes 9 may be misaligned and water may easily flow therethrough, thereby also adversely affecting the effectiveness in erosion prevention.
Moreover, a plurality of the conventional geotextile tubes 9 may need to be stacked on one another so as to reach a height level for forming an effective barrier against erosion. When one of the conventional geotextile tubes 9 is placed on top of a junction between two adjacent ones of the conventional geotextile tubes 9, it may sag into the junction and result in an unlevel top surface, which adversely affects the structural strength of the stacked conventional geotextile tubes 9.
To resolve this issue, another conventional geotextile tube disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,777,523 includes a tubular body, two end panels that are substantially flat and that are respectively and transversely disposed at two opposite ends of the tubular body, and a plurality of ties that are disposed on the tubular body. To connect two of such conventional geotextile tubes end to end, the end panels of such conventional geotextile tubes are aligned and the ties of one of such conventional geotextile tubes are tied together with the ties of the other one of such conventional geotextile tubes. However, water may flow through the end panels of such conventional geotextile tubes and may lead to erosion.
Furthermore, since the tubular body, the end panels, and the ties are separate individual components that are typically connected by stitching seams, puncturing of a needle through the tubular body for stitching the seams decreases the tensile strength of the tubular body at areas where the seams are located. As such, when the fill material is filled into such conventional geotextile tube, the tubular body may easily break apart at the areas where the seams are located. Each of the seams for connecting the tubular body and the end panels is loop-shaped and may have a length greater than each of the stitch seams 92 of the conventional geotextile tube 9 illustrated in FIG. 1. Therefore, such conventional geotextile tube may be more prone to damage compared with the conventional geotextile tube 9.
Moreover, such conventional geotextile tube not only needs to withstand pressure upon filling the fill material, but also needs to bear the weight of the fill material after filling. Therefore, such conventional geotextile tube is subject to damage at the areas where the seams are located even after filling is completed, especially at where the tubular body and the end panels are connected.
Additionally, when the pressure exceeds the stress limit of the seams and such conventional geotextile tube breaks apart, the fill material may pour out from the tubular body at a relatively fast speed and may create safety concerns to people standing nearby or objects located nearby.